Think TankHalloween EditionIssue 1

To my friends and readers: Is this a trick or a treat? You will soon be able to decide that for yourselves. As you read through the pages of this newsletter, think of the person who sent it to you. Remember everything you can and then throw it all out. This isn’t about me. It’s about you. When I was younger, I had thought that I would be able to bring all of the people I care about under one roof. I wanted to have a castle that would comfortably house my friends and family. A place where we could get together at any time and talk. Not just talk, but discuss and learn from one another. I had envisioned a utopia of intellectual discussions and the beginning of the end of the world’s social ills. Time has moved too slow for me to wait for that to happen literally, so here it is. This is our roof. This is a place where we can voice opinions and search for truth together. We can disagree; we can discuss; we can share; we can solve. Together, we can become a synergistic intellectual energy. We are power. I am looking for whatever you want to contribute. If you have read a book that reveals something of truth to you, write us a recommendation. If you have written a short story you just want to share with us, send it. If you know a way we can stop world hunger or create world peace, let us know. If you just want to discuss philosophy, go for it. The other side of this is if you have a problem, we are your support group. If you need something and you can’t find it, let us know. Let’s say your area is totally out of Doritos; it may take a couple of months, but we’ll see what we can do. Now, no one has to contribute. I could just send out a monologue every holiday, but that might be read less enthusiastically than if everyone had a say. In this day of instant information entwined with greed, I know I can trust my friends to give me the truth. There is no one else I will trust. With that in mind, I thought it would be great if all of my friends could get together and all get the same versions of the truth. At least, we know that here no one will intentionally try to deceive us. If I haven’t set the rules out very clearly, remember, I am still me. Rarely do I end where I intended to be by the route I intended to take. I’m not sure where we are going, and I do not want to inhibit our capabilities of getting there. Use your own judgment (not that of the mindless majority), and I think we will, in the end, have something which we won’t even be able to control. If you read the this first edition and decide that you do not want to receive anymore, let me know so I can cut my mailing expenses down. If you do want to send something for the Thanksgiving(?) edition, see the address at the end of this introduction. So you’ve read the first page and thought, “Cool! What am I getting in on?” I’ve got seven subscribers, five friends and two surprises. Everyone will receive a minimum of three editions, unless they state that they don’t want to receive anymore. At the end of those three editions, we’ll see what happens. I hope this will be fun for us all.

Sincerely,

Think Tankc/o Shad Engkilterra

I’ve got an interesting gift for the person who tells me who said it.

Behind the glorification of “work” and the tireless talk of the “blessings of work” I find the same thought as behind the praise of impersonal activity for the public benefit: the fear of everything individual. At bottom, one now feels confronted with work – and what is invariably meant is relentless industry from early till late – that such work is the best policy, that it keeps everybody in harness and powerfully obstructs the development of reason, of covetousness, of the desire for independence. For it uses up a tremendous amount of nervous energy and takes it away from reflection, brooding, dreaming, worry, love and hatred;